Ice fishing of any kind is a sport to take with a goodly dose of caution but with the schizophrenic weather pattern this year, that’s especially the case. Wind direction notwithstanding not all from the north has been nasty, particularly on the perch and pike front!
The blustery wind which pelted these parts for much of this week has created unique and potentially unsafe conditions which belie the chilly temperatures. South and east facing shorelines in late February/early March often open up as the sun grows in spite of the fact that a few feet away the ice is solid. Throw in a whipping northern wind and current can undercut the integrity of ice that looks good but has eroded from below. I’ve seen a first-hand account of this recently which rendered unsafe the first few feet of what looked like a frozen pond! Be careful and try to enter a water body from a sheltered west-facing or north-facing section.
There’s a lot of ice out there and even better is that shop owners are saying that the fish are feeding with renewed vigor! Many species are getting ready to spawn and others will soon be in pre-spawn mode. All that forthcoming activity is going to require a lot of calories making those fish feed aggressively—right now! It is often been said that last ice is best ice!
David from Merrimack Sports made a heck of case the other day to spend some time on hardwater in the Merrimack Valley Region! Upstream of the Lawrence Dam anglers have been doing well on pike and jumbo yellow perch. Where you find one species, chances are you’ll find the other and the perch have been 12- to 14-inch fish, colorful and full of eggs! Masswildlife must have stocked Forest Lake in Methuen with big brook trout since there have been several accounts recently of fish up to 15-inch long taken on small shiners and worms. A pickerel almost as big as a pike at 6 pounds was taken out of Rock Pond. The Lake Attitash bass bite has been pretty good also.
Eric from Lunkers said that pickerel and bass activity has been good from the Coughman’s Cove section of Lake Cochituate. At up to 2 1/2 pounds, what the fish lack in size they are making up for in willingness. Smallish pike have been cooperating at Heard Pond while Dug Pond has been decent for perch. According to Eddie of B&A in West Boylston for such a small pond, Whitehall Pond has been a winner for trout.
Comet continues to be good for trout also with both brown trout and rainbows feeding. The browns appear to be more numerous to the left of the boat ramp. Rodney of Flagg’s in Orange said that pickerel are a big deal in Wyola Lake this year! For their bigger cousins, try Turner Falls for pike as well as the Connecticut River oxbows both in Massachusetts as well as across the border in Hinsdale New Hampshire.
Patrick Barone of Charter the Berkshires is ready to wrap up another fine ice fishing-season in style as he takes advantage of schooling smelt which are a lock-and-load catch from Lake Onota at the moment. The fish are all balled up in about 50 feet of water on Lake Onota. In addition to being scrumptious, smelt are the preferred forage of most everything that swims here, including brown trout and pike. This Pittsfield lake isn’t the only place putting on the big pike according to Jim from JCB in Cheshire. The shop’s namesake – Cheshire Reservoir – after a cool-down period has picked up the pace for pike up to 41 inches, and the fish are fat! When asked for another local option, Jim laughed and quipped “Are you kidding, it’s all here!”
Fishing Forecast for Massachusetts
If you snoozed away the winter or took a hiatus from hardwater, you can make up for it right now as fish seem to be feeding furiously! The Merrimack River pike bite has shifted to just upstream of the Lawrence Dam; however, proceed with caution. Coughman Cove on Lake Cochituate has picked up for pickerel as has Wyola Lake in the Connecticut Valley region. For jumbo perch it’s hard to top Dug Pond as well as the mighty Merrimack. Regarding rivers and their diversity, the oxbows of the Connecticut River in the Bay State as well as across the border into New Hampshire are like a slice of hardwater heaven!